The Beijing Hour
Morning Edition
Paul James with you on this Wednesday, May 14, 2014.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this morning...
So far over 150-people are dead amid a major mining disaster which has hit western Turkey.
Iran and the P5+1 are set to sit down again later today in Vienna to try to hammer out a final nuclear agreement.
Chinese experts calling for better urban planning following the major flooding which gripped Shenzhen this weekend.
In Business... Chinese authorities are rolling out more preferential policies to try to help college grads find jobs this year.
In sports... defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande through to the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League.
In entertainment.... Wolverine and some of his X-men friends have turned out for a promotional event here in Beijing.
But first... lets get a check on the weather...
Weather
Beijing will be sunny today with a high of 24 degree Celsius.
Overnight temperatures should drop down to around 10.
Shanghai will see slight rain during the daytime with a high of 23.
Overnight, it will see moderate rain with a low of 19.
In Chongqing, it will be overcast with a high of 24.
Overnight lows are expected to be around 19.
Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia.
Islamabad will be sunny with a high of 30.
Kabul will be cloudy with a high of 16.
Over to North America.
New York will see slight rain today with a high of 20 degrees.
Washington will be overcast with a high of 26 degrees.
Honolulu, slight rain, 28.
Toronto, Canada, will be overcast with a high of 16 degrees.
Finally, on to South America,
Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 21.
And Rio de Janeiro will be cloudy with a high of 25 degrees Celsius.
Top News
157 killed, over 200 trapped in Turkish coal mine explosion
Turkey's mining sector has been hit by a major disaster.
157 miners have been killed and some 200-others remain trapped underground following an explosion at a coal mine late Tuesday at a facility in the western province of Manisa, which is located about 100-kilometers south of Istanbul.
There were about 600-workers underground, going through a shift change, at the time of the blast.
Only 280 of them made it out, with 75 of them injured.
The fate of the roughly 200 others still trapped underground remains unclear.
Initial indications are the explosion has been set off by an electrical fault.
The explosion, which hit about 2-kilometers underground, has shut down the mine's elevator.
China denies U.S. accusation over South China Sea
The Chinese government has released a new statement, calling on the United States to behave cautiously when it comes to issues in the South China Sea.
The new comments come after a phone conversation between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his US counterpart, John Kerry.
Following that call, a spokesperson for the US State Department says Kerry reportedly told Wang Yi the Chinese side is acting "provocatively" in setting up an oil rig in a disputed area in the South China Sea claimed by both China and Vietnam.
However, the Chinese government says there was no political "tough talk" from Kerry in the conversation.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.
"On the current situation China's foreign minister Wang Yi explained the history, the facts and China's position and principle. He urged the US to view the situation objectively and fairly, keep its promise and speak and act cautiously. US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the US would not take a position on sovereignty and territorial issues and would not make judgments, and that the US hoped all sides could properly handle the issue and preserve peace and stability."
Chinese and Vietnamese authorities have been at odds since last week after a Chinese oil rig entered waters claimed by both China and Vietnam.
This has led to a number of incidents on the water, with Vietnamese boats attempting to stop the rig from being put in-place.
Despite the tensions, the Chinese side says its still hopeful it can resolve the dispute with the Vietnamese government through mutual talks.
Ukraine secures 1 billion euro aid from EU
Anchor
Ukraine's interim government has signed deals with the EU for loans worth over 1.3-billion euros.
The deals comes on the heels of the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk declaring independence in referendums held over the weekend.
CRI's Alexander Aucott has more.
Reporter
Ukraine's interim administration has struck the loan deals as part of a visit to EU headquarters by interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso:
"Ukraine can count on the European Union now and in the future. And indeed, our meeting was a very successful one, it was an unprecedented one. It was the first time the European Commission is meeting with another government outside of the European Union that is in association agreement with us and I think we can say that there was a great convergence and the spirit was really friendly and constructive."
EU officials say the aid can be used to help pay gas bills Ukraine has outstanding with Russia.
The aid is also contingent on the Ukrainian government committing itself to economic reforms.
Last week, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe proposed a road map for peace to the authorities in Kiev.
The OSCE proposals call for national dialogue, the release of political prisoners along with investigations into crimes on both sides.
Germany's foreign minister, who is currently in Kiev, is calling for an immediate start to talks between government officials and pro-Russia activists.
Authorities in Kiev are suggesting any talks need to include international players.
Ukrainian interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk:
"Our position was, is and will be not changed. We consider that an international format of negotiations must consist of four sides - Ukraine, the European Union, the United States and Russian Federation."
Plans are already underway to hold a round of national talks in Ukraine later today.
Pro-Russia supporters have refused to take part in these forthcoming talks, which will include politicians and civil leaders from the country's east.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian defense ministry says 7 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in a new round of fighting in Donetsk.
Pro-Russia activists in the region say they're now considering all Ukrainian troops in the region as occupying forces.
The Ukrainian government, as well as the United States and its European allies, have all said they do not recognize the results of this past weekend's referendums.
Kiev has been insisting the upcoming presidential election later this month is the best way out of the current tensions in the country.
For CRI, I'm Alexander Aucott.
Iran and world powers to begin a new round of nuclear talks
A new round of nuclear talks among Iran the P5+1 grouping is set to get underway today in Vienna.
The negotiations are expected to focus on a final agreement to limit Iran's ability to produce nuclear weapons before a July 20th deadline.
July 20th is when an interim agreement hammered out by the two sides late last year expires.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says his country is determined to reach a new agreement.
"Now we should start negotiating and drafting text of the final agreement. Well it is a difficult stage. At the beginning of the talks in Vienna we planned several meetings for this purpose. There are still three rounds of talks excluding this round, so I am hopeful. We have come here with unflinching determination to reach a result, to reach an agreement, while protecting the rights of the Iranian people."
Under the temporary deal in November, Tehran agreed to cap its nuclear activities in return for an easing of sanctions.
World powers have long-been concerned Tehran's real aim is to produce nuclear weapons.
Iran has consistently denied the charge, insisting its nuclear programme is for civil use only.
Iranian authorities recently agreed to give UN inspectors more access to their nuclear sites.
Nigerians protest to demand the release of the kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerians have taken to the streets of the capital Abuja, calling for more to be done the secure the release of the abducted schoolgirls by militant group Boko Haram.
The demonstrations on Tuesday mark thirty days since over 200 girls were abducted from their school in the country's northeast.
"Our hearts are still bleeding, our eyes are full of tears, we are full of pains and traumas, we do not know where to start, that is why we are crying out. We are crying out."
Boko Haram has released a video this week showing about 130 of the abducted girls.
The extremist group is demands the release of their jailed fighters in return for the girls, which the group has been threatening to sell into sexual slavery.
36 of the girls in the video have been identified by their parents.
It's being reported the Nigerian government is preparing to engage in talks with Boko Haram to secure the release of the schoolgirls.
If true, this would be a reversal of a previous policy.
President Goodluck Jonathan has asked lawmakers to extend a state of emergency in the country's northeast for another 6-weeks.
As part of the search, the US has confirmed its using drones to try to locate the girls.
Other countries including China, the UK and France are also providing resources to help find the girls.
Brahimi to step down as international envoy for Syria
The United Nations-Arab League's special envoy for Syria is stepping down.
Lakhdar Brahimi's resignation from his post will be effective at the end of this month.
In making the announcement, Brahimi says he still feels the situation can be solved.
"I am sure the crisis will end. The question is only, and this everybody who has responsibility and an influence in the situation have to remember, that the question is: How many more dead, how much more destruction there is going to be before Syria becomes again the Syria we have known?"
Brahimi has been contemplating quitting the position for the past year, but had been staying on at the request of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister and a veteran of the United Nations, first took up the role as Syrian envoy in the summer of 2012.
He took over that role from former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who resigned in frustration after failing to make any headway in solving the crisis in Syria.
A replacement for Brahimi has not yet been announced.
Despite numerous attempts to get the two sides to come to a political agreement, Brahimi, Kofi Annan and the rest of the United Nations and Arab League have done little to stem the violence in Syria, which has already left over 100-thousand dead and millions more displaced.
Former Israeli PM gets six years in jail for bribery
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been sentenced to 6 years in prison following a bribery conviction.
Olmert is the first former prime minister in Israel to be convicted of bribery and to be sentenced to prison.
He will have 45 days to appeal the sentence.
Olmert is maintaining his innosence.
Olmert's lawyer is Eli Zohar.
"The punishment is very severe. Mr. Olmert claims several times that he didn't take bribe, and he wasn't bribed by anyone, and he's going to appeal to the high court of justice."
Olmert has been found guilty of accepting around 160-thousand US dollars from contractors while he was the mayor of Jerusalem between 1993 and 2003.
Eight other former officials and businessmen have also been sentenced to various prison terms.
Danny Dankner, a co-accused and former chair of one of Israel's biggest banks, has been handed a three-year prison sentence.
"I never paid bribes and I'm sure that the Supreme Court will do what it's supposed to do, and that justice will come to light."
Ehud Olmert, who served as Israel's prime minister between 2006 and 2009, was forced to resign amid corruption allegations.
MERS signs reported in two U.S. hospital workers
Health authorities in the US state of Flordia say they're concerned a pair of health care workers recently exposed to a person suffering from the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrom, or MERS, may now be infected.
Two of 20 health care workers exposed to a 44-year old from Saudi Arabia at a hospital in the city of Orlando are now showing symptoms.
One has been admitted to hospital, while the other is monitoring the disease at home.
So far there's been no official confirmation of either of them having MERS.
The visiting Saudi healthcare worker is the second confirmed case of MERS in the United States.
The virus, which is similiar to SARS, has now been reported in 14 different countries.
However, most of the more than 500 confirmed cases of MERS have been localized in the Middle East, and all of the infections can be traced back to the Arabian peninsula.
Of the over 500-people who have come down with MERS, close to 150 have died.
Experts: City planners need to be far-sighted in city planning
Anchor
Following this weekend's massive flooding in the city of Shenzhen, a number of experts are warning better urban planning is needed amid the high-speed development of Chinese cities.
CRI's Li Dong has more.
Reporter
The heavy rainfall flooded 20 key areas across the city on Sunday. Two-thousand cars were submerged in the streets and the operations of more than five-thousand buses were suspended. High-speed rail services linking Shenzhen and Guangzhou, the provincial capital, was halted.
A local resident who runs a business in one of the flooded areas says that the flooding is not a rare occurrence.
Flooding has happened every year since she moved into the area.
"Each year, when there is big rainfall, water floods into my store. The drainage system is always stuck. It's happened five or six times since last year."
Despite the city's drainage infrastructure being worked on over the past 30 years, the city has time and again dealt with heavy flooding every time it experienced heavy rainfall.
When Shenzhen was first built as a modern city, the municipality's original design, including its drainage system, was based on a population capacity of one million. However, Shenzhen's population exceeded 10 million several years ago.
Pan Jiahua, director of the Institute of Urban and Environment Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says city planners were not forward thinking, and did not plan for how the city would develop in the future.
"Take Shenzhen as an example; we didn't realize the speed and scale of the city's development could be so fast. Plus, there was not much cooperation between planners responsible for different sections. This resulted in the fact that the designs of our cities now are still focused on the ground and surface rather than the infrastructure underground and long-term design. So, the current underground drainage system is wholly insufficient to sustain the city's fast development."
Pan Jiahua says the infrastructure design of some foreign cities can be used as reference for Chinese city planners.
For example, in Paris, the drainage pipes are 50 meters under the ground, rather than close to the surface, the length of these underground pipes reached 2,300 kilometers in total, far longer than its metro line.
While in Munich, Germany, the 13 underground reservoirs can store a large amount of water if the rainfall is severe, and they release the water gradually into the city's drainage system, so the pipeline won't be suddenly overloaded.
Pan Jiahua emphasizes during China's urbanization process, the design of a city's infrastructure and service facility should be planned for long-term sustenance.
"This isn't the first time heavy rainfall has caused flooding in Shenzhen—or other cities. It shows that there are problems in the planning, design and management of our cities in the face of China's new phase of urbanization."
Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that China's proportion of permanent urban residents stands at 53.7 percent. According to China's new urbanization plan, by 2020, China's ratio of permanent urban residents to total population will reach about 60 percent.
For CRI, I am Li Dong.
Biz Reports
Anchor
First off, a check on the closing numbers in North America and Europe.
Joining me on the desk, CRI's Alexander Aucott.
Reporter
U.S. markets finished the day mixed on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 managing slim gains to finish at record levels, as investor sentiment generally remains buoyant.
At close, the Dow edged up 0.1 percent, capping its first fifth-consecutive record rise this year.
The S&P 500 ended only slightly higher, but still came in above the psycological 1,900 points figure for the first time.
The tech-rich Nasdaq lost steam however, down 0.3 percent.
The bullish market sentiment on Wall Street continues, as investors feel generally comfortable with economic data and corporate earnings, as well as the Federal Reserve's consistent pledge to keep interest rates at extremely low levels as long as needed.
Over in Europe, most equities ended higher on Tuesday, with some benchmarks hitting multi-year highs following upbeat company results from some major companies, including Airbus.
At close, the UK's FTSE 100 advanced 0.3 percent to hit its highest level since December 1999.
France's CAX 40 also added 0.3 percent.
And Germany's DAX gained 0.5 percent.
Massive power transmission project to bring western electricity to east
Chinese electric grid giant State Grid has announced plans to build 12 power transmission lines linking coal production and hydro power centers in inland areas to the densely populated east.
The construction of the 12 transmission lines will require a total investment of more than 210-billion yuan.
The lines are expected to send electricity from Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Yunnan here to Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, as well as the Yangtze and Pearl river delta regions.
Officials estimate the plan could help reduce PM2.5 levels by 4 to 5 percent in this country's central and eastern regions.
Construction could start later this year once plans are approved by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration.
Preferential policies to boost employment for college grads
The State Council has announced a slew of new preferential policies to increase employment for college graduates.
Graduates that decide to work in so-called grassroots positions will be given a break on their tuition or a reduction of their student loan.
And for the first time this year, small-sum guaranteed loans or subsidies will be given to new graduates to open online shops.
Meanwhile, new rules from the State Council are also demanding state-owned enterprises publish employment information on the Internet to ensure a level playing field when it comes to their recruitment.
Official figures show about 7.2-million university students will enter the job market this summer.
This is an increase of just under 300-thousand compared to last year.
10.2 million empty apartments in the country
A new survey has found the residential vacancy rate here in China currently sits at around 15 percent.
The same analysis suggests that rate goes up to 20-percent in certain second and third tier cities.
A Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia survey has found there are about 10.2 million empty housing units across the country.
The analysis is warning that number could rise by as much as 4 million a year.
Vacancy rates in first-tier cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, are sitting at around 10-percent.
Ordos, a city in Inner Mongolia, has the highest vacancy rate in the country at 23 percent.
China to impose punitive measures against Indian optical fibers
The Ministry of Commerce here in China is imposing anti-dumping measures against certain optical fiber producers from India.
The anti-dumping penalties cover single-mode optical fibers.
The penalties will range between 14 and 51 percent, and will be imposed starting on Thursday.
Single-mode optical fibers are used to make telecommunication equipment.
China Mobile revises its 4G tariff policies
Anchor
China Mobile is revising its 4G tariff policies in an attempt to try to attract more users.
Starting today, any data its 4G customers have left-over at the end of the month will be rolled-over into the next month.
It's been around six months since China Mobile launched its 4G service.
China Mobile only has around four million users right now, which is far below its target of 30 million by the end of the year.
For more on the move, we are now joined by Benjamin Cavender, Principal of China Market Research in Shanghai.
Questions
1. It seems like China Mobile is lowering the price for its 4G service. What prompted it to do so?
2. Will this move shake up the telecom sector?
3. With only four million users so far, how is the cut in prices going to affect China Mobile's profitability?
Benjamin Cavender, Principal of China Market Research in Shanghai.
Alibaba will subsidize exporters on its OneTouch
Alibaba has announced plans to start subsidizing small and medium-sized domestic exporters that complete their transactions via the e-commerce platform.
If exporters conclude their deals through Alibaba's online platform OneTouch, they will get a maximum subsidy of half a U.S. cent for every 1 U.S. dollar worth of total transaction.
Services such as logistics, customs clearance and tax rebates typically take up over 30-percent of the total costs for small exporters.
Alibaba says its OneTouch platform can help those small and medium sized exporters lower costs by integrating their services on the platform.
US overtakes France as the biggest wine consumer
New figures are suggesting US has overtaken France as the world's biggest national market for wine.
Figures from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine show US drinkers consumed 2.9 billion litres of wine last year.
This is 100 million liters more than their French counterparts.
The amount of wine drunk per head is still higher in France than it is in the US.
The same study shows worldwide wine consumption dipped by 1-percent last year.
Chinese wine consumption last year dropped by nearly 4-percent, a reversal of the trend seen in recent years.
The government's austerity drive can be pointed to a one of the main factors for that.
Headline News
157 killed, over 200 trapped in Turkish coal mine explosion
Turkey's mining sector has been hit by a major disaster.
157 miners have been killed and some 200-others remain trapped underground following an explosion at a coal mine late Tuesday at a mine in Western Turkey.
There were about 600-workers underground, going through a shift change, at the time of the blast.
Only 280 of them made it out, with 75 of them injured.
The fate of the roughly 200 others still trapped underground remains unclear.
Ukraine secures 1 billion euro aid from EU
Ukraine's interim government has signed deals with the EU for loans worth over 1.3-billion euros.
EU officials say the aid can be used to help pay gas bills Ukraine has outstanding with Russia.
The deals comes on the heels of the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk declaring independence in referendums held over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian defense ministry says 7 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in a new round of fighting in Donetsk.
Plans are underway to hold a round of national talks in Ukraine later today.
Pro-Russia supporters have refused to take part in these forthcoming talks
Iran and world powers to begin a new round of nuclear talks
A new round of nuclear talks among Iran the P5+1 grouping is set to get underway today in Vienna.
The negotiations are expected to focus on a final agreement to limit Iran's ability to produce nuclear weapons before a July 20th deadline.
Under the temporary deal in November, Tehran agreed to cap its nuclear activities in return for an easing of sanctions.
World powers have long-been concerned Tehran's real aim is to produce nuclear weapons.
Iran has consistently denied the charge, insisting its nuclear programme is for civil use only.
Russian, Iranian presidents, UN chief to visit China for CICA summit
Leaders from Russia, Iran and the United Nations are due to visit China next week for an international conference.
A Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia is to be held in Shanghai on May 20th.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani are sheduled to make stops here in China next week.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon is due to start a visit here to China on Sunday.
Smoke in radar facility halts Chicago flights
Hundreds of flights have been delayed and cancelled out of the US city of Chicago because of smoke being detected at a radar facility serving the city.
More than 350-flights have been cancelled and around 700-others have been delayed at Chicago's O'Hare International airport.
The cause of the smoke at the radar facility hasn't been determined.
Flight traffic controls out of Chicago have since been shifted to another radar facility.
O'Hare Airport in Chicago is the 2nd busiest in the United States and is a major transit hub for people making flights within the continental US.
Newspaper Picks
The Beijing news
HEADLINE
Courts uphold death sentence for businesswoman
SUMMERY
A court in Jiangsu has upheld a death sentence with a two-year reprieve handed down a couple of years ago to Gu Chungang for financial fraud.
The 42-year-old was originally convicted of involvement in a financial fraud case worth some 1.7 billion yuan.
The case has generated a lot of discussion here in China about the severely of punishments handed down for financial offenses.
THE BEIJING TIMES
HEADLINE
No murder suspected in hanging
SUMMERY
Beijing police are rebuffing reports surfacing online a girl who was found hanged to death on Monday was murdered by a local postman.
The girl was founding hanging on the door in her home in western Beijing after her mother left to go shopping.
The case is still under investigation.
BEIJING MORNING POST
HEADLINE
Officials arrested in fatal mine flooding
SUMMERY
Two more officials have been arrested in connection with the death of 21 miners in a flooding in Yunnan.
The flooding hit the illegally-operating mine in the city of Qujing on April 7th.
Eleven local officials in charge of work safety have already been removed or suspended from their posts.
SOUTH CHINA METROPOLITAN DAILY
HEADLINE
Torture conviction
SUMMARY
Three former police officers in Chongqing Municipality have been found guilty of torturing a suspect to extort a confession.
However, none of the three are going to see any jail time.
The torture case dates back to July of 2011.
In exempting the three from jail, the court says its because all of them confessed and have sought forgiveness from their victim.
CHINA DAILY
HEADLINE
School tests blamed for suicides
SUMMERY
A new national education report is warning the pressures in China exam-based system is leading more and more teens to kill themselves.
The Annual Report on China's Education shows most of the teenagers who have killed themselves are in middle school.
SHANGHAI DAILY
HEADLINE
Fewer subway dodgers
SUMMERY
Operators of Shanghai's subway system says the threat of tougher punishments has helped halve the number of fare dodgers on the network.
People who fail to pay to get on the system can now have marks put on their permanent records, which could affect their ability to find work or get a loan.
GLOBAL TIMES
HEADLINE
WWII shells blown up
SUMMERY
A total of 145 shells left over by Japanese and Chinese troops during World War II have been detonated safely in the city of Changde in Hunan.
The shells have been collected from various sites around the city over the past 5-years.
Special Reports
PIK ON China Becoming World’s Largest Economy
ANCHOR
There's been a growing amount of discussion in acadmeic circles here in China so far this year now that the World Bank is suggesting the Chinese economy may surpass the United States this year when it comes to purchasing power parity.
The PPP ratio is akin to the so-called 'Big Mac Index,' as it measures how powerful a currency is when it comes to purchases within ones own country.
Some are using the World Bank analysis as a catalyst to suggest China's economy is poised to surpass that of the United States.
For more on this, CRI's Zheng Chenguang speak to Franklin Allen, professor of Finance and Economics for the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
(PIK CHINA ECONOMY)
Franklin Allen, professor of Finance and Economics for the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, speaking with CRI's Zheng Chenguang.
Sports
Guangzhou Evergrande through to quarter finals despite loss
In Football,
Guangzhou Evergrande are through to the quarter finals of the Asian Champions League despite a 1-0 home defeat to Cerezo Osaka last night.
The defending champions were pushing hard for a home win after losing to R&F in the domestic league on Friday, but the Japanese side proved too challenging on the night, looking likely to score on a number of occasions.
The game went into the second half goalless, but to add insult to injury it was an own goal which cost Evergrande the match, Liao Lisheng touching the ball into his own net.
Amazingly this is Guangzhou Evergrande's first ever home losing streak since joining the Chinese Superleague in 2011.
After playing four games over the last 11 days Marcello Lippi's side could be forgiven for one lackluster performance however, especially given that they won the first round 5-1 putting them in a very comfortable position for this tie.
Later this evening there are some other quarter finals qualifiers, notably last year's runners up, FC Seoul, are kicking off against Kawasaki Frontale at 6:30pm Beijing time.
John Terry to spend another year at Chelsea
John Terry has signed a one-year extension to his contract with Chelsea.
The deal will see the 33-year-old play for the Blues until the summer of 2015, which will be his 17th season in the first team.
The defender joined the London club as a youth trainee at the age of 14 and made his first appearance in the first team at the age of 17 in 1998.
Terry has played 621 games for Chelsea, 26 of them as a substitute, and he has scored 57 goals, comfortably the most by a defender in our history. He has been captain on 490 occasions.
NBA and NHL playoff action
In the National Basketball Association playoffs this morning, a pair of games on the schedule.
The Indiana Pacers are hoping to use their home-court advantage to knock off the Washington Wizards this morning.
The Pacers came into the game with a 3-1 series advantage, and will advance to the Eastern Conference finals with a win this morning.
--
Out West, its Oklahoma City entertaining the LA Clippers in Game 5 of their series later on this morning at 9:30am.
This series is deadlocked at two-games a piece.
--
In the National Hockey League playoffs,
The Pittsburgh Penguins are at home to the New York Rangers in the decisive Game-7 of that Eastern Conference semi-finals.
The Penguins, who held a 3-1 series lead at one point, have been struggling to find scoring the past couple of games, with superstar Sidney Crosby still finding it difficult to find the back-of-the-net in this year's playoffs.
--
And in the Western Conference,
The Chicago Blackhawks have a chance to advance to the Western Conference finals this morning on the road in Minnesota.
The Blackhawks hold the 3-2 series advantage.
Game-6 gets underway at 9 this morning.
Tennis - Results from second round of Rome Open
In Tennis,
The Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka cruised to a comfortable straight sets victory over Spaniard Pere Riba in the second round of the Rome Open on Tuesday.
The Swiss took the first set 6-0 before easing home to win the second 6-3.
Meanwhile Canada's Milos Raonic disappointed the crowd with a straight sets victory over home favourite Simone Bolelli.
The stubborn Italian didn't give up without a fight however, although he lost the first set 6-3 he dug deep in the second to force a tense tie-break which Raonic eventually just got the better of.
Elsewhere the second seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic, beat Radek Stepanek 6-3 7-5. The world number two will face German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the next round.
Fresh from victory in Madrid, world number one and seven times winner of the Italian Open, Rafa Nadal explained how much he enjoyed playing in Rome ahead of his opening match against France's Gilles Simon later today:
"It's true that I've always had a great feeling here in Rome since the first time I came in 2005, I remember that final, it was one of the best memories I have of the tour. I'm sure after that I had good success here, winning seven times and losing one final. So I've played a lot of matches here, important ones for my career and it's a tournament I really like."
Roger Federer, who has just become the father of twin boys, will play another Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy, in his opening match.
Entertainment
Jackman, Fan Bingbing promoting X-Men in Beijing
(x-men trailer)
Australian actor Hugh Jackman, Peter Dinklage and Fan Bingbing have attended premiere of "X Men: Days of Future Past" in Beijing.
In the movie, Jackman is sent to the 1970's to try and bring Professor X, played by James McAvoy, and Magneto, played by Michael Fassbender, back together to save the lives of mutants.
In an exclusive interview with CRIENGLISH.com, Jackman says if it were all possible, he would like to time travel to ancient times.
"The past, except when I'm really old. When I'm really old it would be good to go into the future to see if what happens with my kids. But right now I would like to get back to ancient Greece. I think that time Socrates walking around, and some of those acretes... That would be fun."
Jackman himself has attended the Beijing event having a potentially-cancerous piece of skin removed from his nose.
Chinese actress Fan Bingbing is making her first appearance in the X-Men franchise, playing the role of Blink.
She says the experience has been quite exciting.
"I am feeling really excited because I am a new member in this film. The character Blink is actually the most classic heroine in the hearts of the fans of comic series. She used to be a foreigner, but now with this film she has a Chinese face. I really hope that the Chinese audiences will support this film and help this character to continue on in the series."
Beijing is the first leg of an Asian promotional tour the film's stars are on.
The film is going to hit theatres here in China on May 23rd.
Items from music icons in auction
Julien's Auction House in New York is set to hold their annual Music Icons sale later this week.
More than 700 items from some of the world's biggest music stars will appear in the auction.
The most sought-after lot comes from the Beatles.
A guitar played by both George Harrison and John Lennon is expected to fetch upward of 500-thousand US dollars.
Belongings from the estate of late-singer Michael Jackson are also expected to be in high demand.
Martin Nolan is the executive director and organizer of the auction.
"We have over 200 items in this sale coming from the life and career of such an icon. Again a global icon as Michael Jackson. We have some of his loafers signed by Michael Jackson that he wore - after a performance he gave to a friend and signed them. So they're really iconic. A glove, a crystal glove, when you think of Michael Jackson you think of course of the gloved one."
Pop star Lady Gaga has contributed a Rolls Royce to the event.
All the proceeds from the auction will go to a charity called Music Cares.
Other items included in the auction come from Elvis Presley, Madonna, U2 and even a young Britney Spears.
Copyright disputes over Bob Marley songs in Court
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A High Court in London has begun hearing a copyright case involving 13 songs by Bob Marley, including his mega-hit "No Woman, No Cry."
The case goes back to a deal signed between Cayman Music and Blue Mountain Music.
Cayman Music handled Bob Marley's music catalogue for 9-years from 1967 to 1976, and claims it has not been given credit for songs thought to have been written by Marley after the company sold the song rights to Blue Mountain.
Cayman claims 13 of Marley's songs written between 1973 and 1976 were given false names as composer.
As such, the company says Blue Mountain owes it back royalties for those songs, which could be worth millions.
Blue Mountain argues otherwise.
A verdict is expected by the end of the week.
That’s it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.
A quick recap of headlines before we go.
So far over 150-people are dead amid a major mining disaster which has hit western Turkey.
Iran and the P5+1 are set to sit down again later today in Vienna to try to hammer out a final nuclear agreement.
Chinese experts calling for better urban planning following the major flooding which gripped Shenzhen this weekend.
In Business... Chinese authorities are rolling out more preferential policies to try to help college grads find jobs this year.
On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Paul James in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together. |